II。ANCESTRALTRADITIONANDCULTURE。
Origin，natureandvalueofhereditaryprejudice。—Howfarcustom，religionandgovernmentarelegitimate。
Nothingcouldbebetterhadthenewdoctrinebeencomplete，andifReason，instructedbyhistory，hadbecomecritical，andthereforequalifiedtocomprehendtherivalshereplaced。Forthen，insteadofregardingherasanusurpertoberepelledshewouldhaverecognizedinheraneldersisterwhosepartmustbelefttoher。HereditaryprejudiceisasortofReasonoperatingunconsciously。Ithasclaimsaswellasreason，butitisunabletopresentthese；insteadofadvancingthosethatareauthenticitputsforththedoubtfulones。
Itsarchivesareburied；toexhumetheseitisnecessarytomakeresearchesofwhichitisincapable；neverthelesstheyexist，andhistoryatthepresentdayisbringingthemtolight。——Carefulinvestigationsshowsthat，likescience，itissuesfromalongaccumulationofexperiences；apeople，afteramultitudeofgropingsandefforts，hasdiscoveredthatacertainwayoflivingandthinkingistheonlyoneadaptedtoitssituation，themostpracticalandthemostsalutary，thesystemordogmanowseemingarbitrarytousbeingatfirstaconfirmedexpedientofpublicsafety。Frequentlyitissostill；inanyevent，initsleadingfeaturesitisindispensable；itmaybestatedwithcertaintythat，iftheleadingprejudicesofthecommunityshouldsuddenlydisappear，Man，deprivedofthepreciouslegacytransmittedtohimbythewisdomofages，wouldatoncefallbackintoasavageconditionandagainbecomewhathewasatfirst，namely，arestless，famished，wandering，huntedbrute。Therewasatimewhenthisheritagewaslacking；therearepopulationstodaywithwhichitisstillutterlylacking。[4]Toabstainfromeatinghumanflesh，fromkillinguselessorburdensomeagedpeople，fromexposing，sellingorkillingchildrenonedoesnotknowwhattodowith，tobetheonehusbandofbutonewoman，toholdinhorrorincestandunnaturalpractices，tobethesoleandrecognizedownerofadistinctfield，tobemindfulofthesuperiorinjunctionsofmodesty，humanity，honorandconscience，alltheseobservances，formerlyunknownandslowlyestablished，composethecivilizationofhumanbeings。Becauseweaccepttheminfullsecuritytheyarenotthelesssacred，andtheybecomeonlythemoresacredwhen，submittedtoinvestigationandtracedthroughhistory，theyaredisclosedtousasthesecretforcewhichhasconvertedaherdofbrutesintoasocietyofmen。Ingeneral，theolderandmoreuniversalacustom，themoreitisbasedonprofoundmotives，onphysiologicalmotivesonthoseofhygiene，andonthoseinstitutedforsocialprotection。Atonetime，asintheseparationofcastes，aheroicorthoughtfulstockmustbepreservedbypreventingthemixturesbywhichinferiorbloodintroducesmentaldebilityandlowinstincts。[5]Atanother，asintheprohibitionofspirituousliquors，andofanimalfood，itisnecessarytoconformtotheclimateprescribingavegetablediet，ortotherace—temperamentforwhichstrongdrinkispernicious。[6]Atanother，asintheinstitutionoftherightoffirst—borntoinherittitleandcastle，itwasimportanttoprepareanddesignatebeforehandthemilitarycommanderwhothetribewouldobey，orthecivilchieftainthatwouldpreservethedomain，superintenditscultivation，andsupportthefamily。[7]——IftherearevalidreasonsforlegitimizingcustomtherearereasonsofhigherimportfortheconsecrationofreligionConsiderthispoint，notingeneralandaccordingtoavaguenotion，butattheoutset，atitsbirth，inthetexts，takingforanexampleoneofthefaithswhichnowruleinsociety，Christianity，Hinduism，thelawofMohammedorofBuddha。Atcertaincriticalmomentsinhistory，afewmen，emergingfromtheirnarrowanddailyroutineoflife，areseizedbysomegeneralizedconceptionoftheinfiniteuniverse；theaugustfaceofnatureissuddenlyunveiledtothem；intheirsublimeemotiontheyseemtohavedetecteditsfirstcause；theyhaveatleastdetectedsomeofitselements。Throughafortunateconjunctionofcircumstancestheseelementsarejustthosewhichtheircentury，theirpeople，agroupofpeoples，afragmentofhumanityisinastatetocomprehend。Theirpointofviewistheonlyoneatwhichthegraduatedmultitudesbelowthemareabletoaccept。Formillionsofmen，forhundredsofgenerations，onlythroughthemisanyaccesstodivinethingstobeobtained。Theirsistheuniqueutterance，heroicoraffecting，enthusiasticortranquilizing；theonlyonewhichtheheartsandmindsaroundthemandafterthemwillheed；theonlyoneadaptedtoprofoundcravings，toaccumulatedaspirations，tohereditaryfaculties，toacompleteintellectualandmoralorganism；
YonderthatofHindostanoroftheMongolian；herethatoftheSemiteortheEuropean；inourEuropethatoftheGerman，theLatinortheSlave；insuchawaythatitscontradictions，insteadofcondemningit，justifyit，itsdiversityproducingitsadaptationanditsadaptationproducingbenefits。——Thisisnobarrenformula。A